Ovis Panthera
by thedailygraphic
Summary: The story of a smuggler struggling to survive in a galaxy of constant trials. I'm terrible at summaries. Rated M for language/drug use/sexuality in later chapters.


Peering out of the main cabin window, she could see the distinctive blue-green crust of Ord Mantell in the distance. The light cast from the projected, ever updating holomap of the galaxy cast a strange half-shadow across the pale olive-green skin of her face, collecting around her eyes and in the hollows of her cheeks, accentuating the long nights she had spent cataloguing the contents of her cargo hold and navigating the freighter through hyperspace. The captain sighed inwardly, pursing her lips and releasing a deep breath as she did. She knew she ought to have hired at least one other crew member by now, but she had just never gotten around to it. That and she barely trusted anyone these days.

She had purchased a droid to help around the ship, but that hadn't exactly worked out the way she had planned. She had bought the droid off of some black market dealers on Coruscant, but they had barely cleared the planet's atmosphere when the droid had nearly blown up half the ship when it short circuited while tapped into the freighter's main power controls. She was carrying a load of heavy ammunition and artillery to the battlefront on Ord Mantell, as well as some illegal goods she had…acquired…back on Coruscant for some higher ups in the Military. It would have been a simple job if a separatist's rebellion hadn't been ravaging the planet for the past couple of years. A halo of Separatist and Republic fighting vessels shrouded Ord Mantell, creating a near impenetrable wall around the planet's atmosphere. Anyone who wished to reach the surface first had to dodge heavy fire from both sides of the battle. Ord Mantell was harmless enough, but navigating through a virtual minefield of blaster-fire would prove to be a challenge, even for a seasoned captain like herself.

The captain crosses to the portside dashboard and fiddled with the ship's holocommunicator until it picked up a republic signal. She placed a call through to the customs office of Fort Garnik on Ord Mantell. After a few moments, a portly man sporting a uniform and a topknot appeared on the platform of the holocom. His face brightened when he recognized who was calling him.

"Captain Vel'rie! Nice to see you again, and in one piece at that! I heard you had a nasty run in with some traders on Coruscant." He said boisterously.

"Well, not exactly," Vel'rie said, smiling as she hooked her thumbs through her belt loops. "It was more of a discrepancy with their merchandise."

"And you let them get away with it?"

"Well, let's just say that the next time I'm on Coruscant…it will be more than a discrepancy they'll be having with me."

"I fear for the poor bastard that tried to cheat you." The portly man said, laughing. "Ah, well, that's what you get for dealing with those black market types."

Vel'rie laughed at his comment, more at its irony that at its truth, in reality, she worked as a smuggler herself, buying a trading various illegal goods to buyers who had the right amount of credits to hire her, as well as the common sense not to cross her. But there was no way she was letting Xavien, her longtime ally, know any of this. "Yeah, thanks for the advice."

"Well, you're cleared for landing here at the fort. What have you got with you, more ammo?" he asked.

"Yes sir, along with some shipments of rations." She said before muttering, "and various unmentionables." But he didn't seem to hear her.

"Hangar 21 is open, but you've got to make it here alive first." He said, smirking. "Good luck captain."

"I don't need luck, what I need is a miracle."

He nodded once. "See on the other side then, Captain?"

"More likely in the void." Vel'rie said, half-joking, half-serious. But the signal had already been lost. Deciding it was no use putting it off any longer, the she settled down into the captain's chair and flipped on the accelerator, letting the power build up inside the freighter's propulsion jets. She released the switch and shot forward, into the fray.


End file.
